Here We Go
by Kennyboo
Summary: Jill Curtis dreams of her relationship with the one and only Dally Winston, but it doesn't turn out the way she planned.
1. Birthday Surprise

**A/N: I know this is going to suck so hard, but I'm super obsessed right now, so bare with me. **

"What the hell, Soda?" I screamed at my big brother.

"Sorry, sweet cheeks. You weren't waking up!" He stifled a laugh.

"And that makes it OK to dump freezing water on me?" I sat up and started ringing my hair out on the ground.

"Yeah, Jill, it does. Darry told me to wake you up at all costs."

I groaned, "Why do I have to wake up early on my birthday?"

"This is a direct quote from Darry; 'It's not everyday our baby sister turns 16, we need to make the most out of the day.' So sorry, but we have a whole day planned for you." Soda smiled. His smile always made me do whatever he was asking. He was quite the charmer. Even being his sister, he could still manipulate me with that smile.

"Fine. Give me a few minutes to get ready."

After showering and getting myself prepared for the day's events, I went to the living room to find all three of my big brothers. Each of them was holding something. Soda had a camera and was taking an obnoxious amount of pictures, Pony had a cake that didn't look any different from any of the other cakes we had around here except for the lighted candles, and Darry had a gift bag. They were all grinning like idiots.

As if on cue, they all shouted "Happy Birthday" in unison.

I smiled, "Thanks, guys." I walked up to Pony and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I blew out the 16 candles. As the last candle lost its flame, a rush of bodies came swarming into the house. I saw 3 familiar faces that belonged to most of the other members of the gang. Two Bit ran towards me and spun me around in the air. "Happy birthday, Jilly!" He kissed me on the temple.

"Hey, enough of that, Two!" Darry yelled across the room.

"Sorry, man! I gotta get them in before she starts shacking up with some guy!" He grinned.

I blushed furiously. Darry crossed the room and whacked Two Bit across the head. Two But just shrugged and laughed some more.

Next up was Steve. "Baby Curtis is all grown up!" He fake sniffed, he patted his eyes and as his hands came down, he made eye contact with the cake. When he saw it, he forgot why he was even here.

I laughed as I walked over to the couch and took a seat. I rested my head against the back and slowly started to doze off like any other day. The guys were always here, so I never had a problem with the noise. I felt someone sit down next to me and bump my side. I opened my eyes to see Johnny.

"Hey, Johnny." I grinned at him.

"Happy birthday, Jill." He mumbled. He was never much of a talker.

"Thanks, man." I said and wrapped my arm around his shoulders, pulling him in for a hug.

He blushed. "Yeah, no problem." We sat there for a few minutes in silence before Johnny couldn't take it anymore. He got up and started talking to Pony.

A few more minutes go past and I'm already half asleep again.

"Princess over there is going to sleep?" Soda shouted. "That must mean it's present time!"

I opened my eye once again, and looked back at him.

I would be lying if I said I hadn't been dying to know what was in that bag Darry was holding. I knew money was tight, so I didn't expect anything too extravagant, but I was excited.

"Ok, ok! Me first!" Two Bit screeched. He walked over to my place on the couch and handed me a small box.

"Awe, Two. You didn't have to get me anything!" I peeled back the brown paper bag wrapping, and saw a small crushed velvet box.

"There ain't be no ring there! I know you've had a thing for her before, but this is taking it too far!" Darry stared down at Two.

"Calm down, it's earrings!" I said as I opened the box, "Wow, Two, these must have cost a fortune."

His ears turned red, "They were actually my ma's. She won't miss 'em."

I nodded, and smiled at him in appreciation.

Two Bit clapped Johnny on the back. "Johnnyboy, you're up next!" Johnny stood up wearily from his spot on the floor. He passed me a small package wrapped in the Sunday comics.

"This isn't as good as Two's. But I hope you like it." He smiled slightly. I ripped the tape off of the paper and revealed a black Zippo lighter.

"Thanks! Now I won't have to bum lights off you guys anymore!" I smiled widely.

"Why do you need any lights?" Darry interrogated.

Darry didn't like the thought of his only sister smoking cigarettes. Constant denial. "So I can light my candles, duh!"

Darry laughed, "Good answer."

"I'm next! I'm next!" Steve came running at me. He threw a softball sized box at me and sat down in front of my like a puppy. I opened it up and pulled out a white coffee mug. On the side, it looked like Steve wrote on it with Magic Marker. In his childlike handwriting, he had written "Jilly Bean", my childhood nickname.

I threw my head back and laughed. "I love it, Steve!" He curled his lips up and threw up a thumb.

Pony came around the couch now. "And last, but not least!" He presented me with the same gift bag I saw this morning. I pulled out the purple tissue paper, and pulled out the first object. It was a Seventeen Magazine. The guys knew reading it was my guilty pleasure, but we couldn't always afford them. I squealed and started flipping through the pages.

"There's more!" Pony smacked the magazine out of my hand. I looked longingly at the magazine, but directed my attention to the bag again. The other article in the bag was a small wooden picture frame. "We figured you could get one of the pictures from today to put in there." Soda said.

"These are all really great!" I said, motioning to the stuff spread around me. I leaned back and sighed. There was one person that wasn't here. Dally.

Soda noticed the small frown forming on my face. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the kitchen. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I said, giving him a fake smile.

"Come on, I know you better than that." He shoved my shoulder. "Out with it."

"He's not here." I pouted.

Soda sighed. He knew I'd had a crush on Dally for as long as I remembered. Everyone knew; I was pretty obvious about it. I mean, how is a little girl that only hangs out with boys supposed to keep her crush a secret? "I told him about it. He probably just forgot." He shrugged it off.

"He didn't forget. He just loves torturing me! He knew I would want him to be here, and so he didn't come. I don't know why I even like that guy." My head rested up against the wall. "Sometimes he's just so nice to me, and I start to think he might like me back. Other times I see him with some nasty girls and I'm positive he doesn't want me."

"You can't let a guy like him get in your head. _He_ doesn't even know what he wants." Soda patted my arm. He gave me another small smile before returning to the party.

Why couldn't boys just be simpler? I guess Dally was technically a man. He was 18 after all. That didn't matter to me though, he would always be the 11 year old boy that came over to our house everyday after school. I shook all the thoughts about him out of my head. I _had_ to stop thinking about him. I plastered a smile on my face and went back out the where my real friends were.


	2. Please Don't Tell Anyone

After the guests had gone home and the mess was cleaned, I snatched up my Seventeen and bolted to my room. I desperately needed to know what kind of advice it would give me in this issue. I flipped on my bed side lamp and started skimming though the pages. I always read the love advice section first. The head line on the page was 'How to Find the Perfect Man'. Hmpf, I already knew who my perfect man was, but I read on.

"_To find the guy of your dreams, go to places that interest you, like a museum. If you truly enjoy what you're doing, there's bound to be a boy there that likes the same thing."_

What a load of crap. There is no way in hell that I was going to a museum to look for a boyfriend. The last thing I needed was some Soc that everyone would want to beat up. Moving on. 'What Makes You Irresistible' was the next heading that I read.

"_To make you irresistible to his kiss, follow these simply steps._

_Have kissable lips! Always have a thin sheet of ChapStick on, but not too much._

_Bat your eyelashes! Look him in the eyes and give him a coy smile, you will look super cute._

_Touch him! Break the touch barrier. Bump into him or something to let him know it's okay to touch you back._

_Look at his lips! While you're having a conversation, casually glance down to his lips. Draw attention to yours as well by biting your bottom lip or licking them."_

This actually sounded like it could work. I wonder who I could use it on, considering I could never get alone with Dally. Whatever. I shrugged my shoulders and continued flipping though the magazine, stopping here or there to look at new hair-dos or makeup tips. My eyes gradually closed and the magazine slipped through my fingers and shut on my legs.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._ I peeled open my eyes. What was that noise? _Tap, Tap, Tap. _I saw something moving outside my window. I stood up and slowly crawled over to check it out. Oh God, I hope it wasn't a Soc looking for a fight. I didn't want to be the one to wake up my brothers in the middle of the night. I peeked my eyes over the window sill and looked out into the dark. A bulky creature stepped in front of my sight. I let out a small scream and ducked back down to where I couldn't see it. I heard a chuckle from the other side, so it was a human. I heard a few more soft knocks and looked up again. I recognized the face instantly. What was he doing here? I forced my window open a few inches. Still on my knees in front of the window in my room I said, "Why are you here, Dally?"

"I came to see my favorite Curtis on her birthday." He grinned.

I turned and looked at the clock on the wall, 12:21. "My birthday was technically yesterday. And you missed the party." I responded curtly.

"Awe, come on Jilly. Don't be a party pooper." He pouted. "Come out and see what I got for you!"

"Fine, I need shoes though." I huffed. I tip-toed to my door and opened it as silently as I could. I poked my head out to check if the coast was clear. When I saw no one awake, I took a step into the hall. I made my way to the living room to get to the front door. I stepped on a creaky board and heard rustling from inside the house.

"Whatcha doing' Jill?" I heard a voice coming from the couch that made me jump.

"Jesus, Johnny. You scared me. What are you doin' here?" I whispered.

"Just didn't want to go home. But what are you doing out here?" He asked.

"Dally just knocked on my window and wants me to go out and see him." Johnny's eyes widened. "Please don't tell anyone." I waited for him to nod, and slipped on some shoes. Dally met me by the front door and we walked around back to the old swing set. He broke the silence.

"I see what you got for your birthday." He motioned towards my chest. I was only wearing a cami to sleep in and unfortunately didn't think to put a bra on to come outside. I'll just say that it was cold outside. I hit Dally's arm and sat down on the rickety old swing. "So why are you really here?" I asked.

"Can't a guy just come and wish his friend a happy birthday?"

"Yeah, on their actual birthday. Like every one else did!" We sat in silence. I knew he wouldn't say sorry for not being at the party and for waking me up now, it just wasn't in his nature to be sorry for anything. After a couple more seconds of hearing the creaking of the swings, I took it upon myself to strike up a conversation.

"So you said you got me something?" I peeked over at him. He was staring at the ground, digging his shoes into the dirt.

"Uh, yeah. I did." He said, kicking up more dirt.

"Well, what is it?!" I playfully punted a gob of filth at him.

He inhaled deeply. He pulled himself off of the wooden plank and went to stand behind my swing. My back hit his front and I stopped moving. His hand pulled something out of his pocket and placed the object around my neck and fastened it. He pulled my dark brown hair out of it and splayed it on my back again. I looked down. It was a simple silver chain with a small oval hanging at the bottom. No, it couldn't be. I whipped my head around and stared at Dally's chest. It wasn't there. Which means that this was the necklace that never left his body.

"What? Dally, this is your most prized possession. You're never seen without it. Why'd you give it to me?" I asked.

"Well. The truth is... I don't want to be seen without _you_." I gasped. Did he really just say that? The serious look on his face tells me that he did. I smirked at the thought of my childhood dreams coming true. He cupped my face with his warm hands and brought his lips to mine. He didn't try to push to far; he didn't move his hands from my face. It was just a simple kiss. But it was my first, and it was Dally. The one I waited for. I could not have been happier in this moment. I thought back to the Seventeen living in my room. I didn't need those tips after all.


	3. No Way In Hell

**A/N: Thanks for all ya'll you followed/favorited. Special thanks to Bridge on fire, NaiveLove, outsidersfanlovesdally, nataliedejayy, and SNLbubble for reviewing! **

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"Wow, thanks." I smiled slightly, trying to contain myself.

"Don't mention it, Curtis." He looked at the sky and grinned.

"So, what happens now?" I asked.

He looked back down at me, "I'm not real sure. But for starters, why don't you go back inside before your brothers know you're missin'."

I cracked another smile and nodded slowly. I turned my back to him and took a step towards my front door. Before I could get another one in, he grabbed my wrist and pulled my body close to his. He pressed his lips against mine once again and I melted. My arms resumed their positions around his neck and he pulled my hips into his. I felt him deepen the kiss and our tongues intertwined. His hands began to roam around my lower back. My lack of disapproval must have meant total approval on his part because his palms moved upward toward my scantily clad chest. I smirked into our kiss and pulled away. "Don't think giving me a dog tag will get you to second base just like that." I snapped my fingers.

"Damn," He whispered.

I laughed and started my walk towards the door again, "And next time, come around during the daylight."

"Oh, so you think there's going to be a next time?" He joked.

"Well, you're best friends live here. And from what you said earlier, I think there will be." I said cockily.

He let out a silent laugh, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll be back in a couple hours." He looked at his watch, and took off towards Buck's place.

I shook my head at his blatant statement. That was Dally for ya. I exhaled and thought about the past couple of minutes. Dally had given me his necklace, and kissed me. I mean _really_ kissed me. I was on Cloud 9 as I shut the front door behind me quietly.

I heard someone clear their throat. "Excuse me, missy, but what were you doing out there?" I heard Darry say.

I winced at the sound of his voice. I slowly turned around to be confronted by him and I saw his humorless face staring back at me. "I just th-thought I heard a noise outside of my window and went to check it out."

"And it took you-" He checked his watch, "15 minutes to check out whatever it was that was out there?"

"I wanted to be thorough in my search." I responded.

Darry sighed at my attitude. "Listen, Jill, I heard you talking to someone when you were in your room. You seem to forget that the walls in this house are paper thin. So just tell me who it was out there." He tried to reason with me. I looked nervously between Johnny, who was still sitting on the couch, and Darry, who was waiting for an answer. He sighed again, "I know I told you that you could start dating when you were 16, but I didn't expect you to start the _day_ you turned 16. Just tell me who was out there. Is it your boyfriend? Is he a good kid? How long has he been your boyfriend? What's his name? How old is he?" Darry's questions came faster and faster, he was freaking out at the thought of his baby sister being in a relationship.

"Darry-" I started.

"Just tell me!" He shouted.

I waited a few beats and Johnny gave me an encouraging nod, "It was Dally."

He sighed once again, but this time in relief. "Oh, good. So you don't have a boyfriend."

I pulled at the chain that has weighing heavily around my neck and looked at my feet. Darry quickly realized what it was. "What?! No. No, no, no, no!" He yelled and fell back on the couch next to Johnny. All his yelling had made Pony and Soda come into the living room, both rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"What's goin' on in here. There are people tryin' to sleep!" Soda scolded.

"You will _never_ believe who our _baby_ sister was talking to outside in the middle of the night." Darry said, exasperated.

Soda stood up completely straight, "Is someone botherin' you, Jill? Do I need to kick some ass?"

I laughed, "No one's botherin' me. Calm down."

"Then what's happenin'?" Pony questioned, looking from me to Darry and back.

Darry laughed, like he didn't believe what he was about to say. "The one and only Dallas Winston is goin' after our little Jilly Bean."

Pony gave his first input of the night, "What? There's no way in Hell that we're gonna let her do that, is there?" Darry responded with something about starting shifts so they could watch me at all times. Soda gave me a sly smile and winked at me. He gave me a small thumbs up and nodded in approval. I laughed and Darry glared at me.

"What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Nothing, I just don't see the big deal in this. It's not like we were outside having sex!"

Darry made a horrendous noise, "How do you know what sex is?! You're only 16! Did Dally teach you what it is?!"

"Calm down, Darry! Can I please explain my side of the story before you send out a team to lynch Dally?"

Darry threw his hand up in the air and motioned for me to continue. I recapped what had happened tonight, excluding all the lip-locking that had gone down.

Soda spoke up when my story was finished. "It seems like Jilly here has domesticated ol' Dal and made a real man out of him."

"Oh, God. Please don't phrase it like that!" Pony whined.

"And how do we know he isn't just gonna take advantage of ya and then leave. It's what he's done to every girl before!" Darry accused.

"But he's never given a girl his tags!" Soda defended.

"I don't feel right about this." Pony interjected.

They all looked very uncomfortable. "Are you guys done yet?" I asked, they all nodded. "It's 1 o'clock in the morning. How about you let me go out with this guy? You've all taught me well enough to know what _not_ to do. And if it ends badly, you get to tell me you told me so, but I would like the chance to make my own mistakes. Plus, you all know how long I've waited for this moment. Don't ruin it for me."

They looked at each other. Soda spoke up in my favor, "I think we should let her go. She has a point. We've told her the dangers of guys, and she's been around Dally for most of her life. She knows how to handle him."

Pony yawned, "Go ahead Jilly, just be careful." He stood up and ruffled my hair, going back to his room.

I looked expectantly at Darry. "Fine," He said, "But I get to talk to him before you guys even lay eyes on each other again!"

"Thanks, guys!" I kissed Darry's cheek, and gave a thumbs up to Soda.


	4. Uncharted Territory

**A/N: So this one is a bit shorter than the others and it's basically filler until I get to their first date. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks to Bride on fire who's reviewed a couple times. Keep up the good work!**

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I woke up early the next morning to get ready for when Dally got here. I had no idea why I was putting so much effort into looking good for him; he'd seen me at my worst. Hell, he saw me straight out of bed last night and it didn't even seem to phase him. I guess I was just so happy that he finally liked me back that I wanted to make a good impression... If that makes any sense at all.

I was all dolled up with my long, light brown hair curled and my best make-up on at 9:30 in the morning. I knew he wouldn't be over that early, but I couldn't help myself. At 4:45, I was lounging comfortably on my bed and reading a book I had gotten last week from the library when I heard the screen door open and snap back. All my senses were on high alert. I listened carefully to hear who it was.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here." Darry said and I knew it was towards Dally.

"What's up, brotha?" I could almost hear the sloppy grin that I was positive was plastered on his face.

"Don't 'what's up' me. Why don't you explain to me what you were doin here last night." Darry said sternly.

"Don't know what your talkin' 'bout."

"Come on. I caught her sneaking back in."

Dally sighed, "Well then you _obviously_ know what happened already. Why do ya need me to say it?"

"I guess I don't. But you're in uncharted territory now. If you end up hurting her, I think you're gonna lose at least 3 of your buds."

"Don't worry, man. I ain't gonna hurt her."

"I know that you're gonna _try_ not to hurt her. But what happens when you guys break up? Am I supposed to let you keep coming around here like you were never together? "

"Whoa! Quit gettin' your panties in a twist! We haven't even gone on one date! Stop talking about us breaking up! Contrary to your beliefs, I'm kinda hoping this one is for the long haul." He half-mumbled. I fell off my bed. I crawled over to the door and pressed my ear to it to be sure that was actually what he said.

I heard Darry sigh and I could picture him shaking his head and rubbing his eyes like he did when he was stressed, "Why her?" Is all he asked.

"I don't know. I guess I kinda always liked her. It dawned on me a while ago when she went to one of those school dances with that idiot Soc and I got really jealous. Remember how torn up she was when he got beat up the night after the dance?" Dally asked.

"Yeah..." Darry replied suspiciously.

"I had my hand in that." Dally said proudly.

Darry let out a laugh, "Of course you did! No one could injure a kid that bad without a motive!" He took a deep breath, "If I let you guys do this, you have to promise me you'll take care of her." Dally must've made a suggestive joke out of that because Darry yelled, "Not like that! I'm serious!"

"I got it! I'll be careful! I'll always use protection, and never give her more than 3 beers."

I heard a thunk and Dally yell some profanity. "You deserved that one!" Darry yelled back at him.

Dally laughed, "Yeah, yeah. You're right. Can I take your sister out on a date now? I'm sure she's been ready in her room for hours!"

"Yeah, yeah. Go get her." Darry replied.

I didn't have time to register that Dally would be coming into my room in about 3 seconds before he actually did. He didn't knock and practically busted the door down, hitting my head in the process. I was in a very incriminating position from eavesdropping on their conversation. He looked down at me and grinned, "Whatcha doin'?"

I turned red, "Oh, not much. Just hanging out."

He laughed, knowing he caught me in a lie, and knowing exactly what I was doing on the ground, "Come on, Snoopy. I'm takin' ya out tonight."

I cringed at the new nick-name, but happily accepted his outstretched hand and stood up. "Where are we going?" I asked, adjusting my black pencil skirt and flowy blue blouse that was tucked into it.

He admired the amount of leg showing because of how short my skirt was. "Uhm. Uh, I- I was thinking that we could hang out at the Dingo for a while." He stammered.

I grinned at his inability to speak. "Sounds good." I crossed over to my closet and tried to bend down as lady-like as possible to pick up a pair of black flats. I heard Dally take a deep breath and hold it. I turned around, blushing again. "Sorry," I mumbled, pulling the hem of my skirt down a couple inches.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "No need to be sorry," he said, crossing the room to throw his arm around my shoulders. He waited for me to put on my shoes and asked, "Are you ready?"

I smiled widely, I couldn't believe I was actually going on a real date with Dallas Winston. "As ready as I'll ever be."


	5. Just You

**A/N: Thanks to all the people who have followed/favorited this story. It really means a lot to me. Thanks to Bridge on fire for never failing to review (teach everyone else your ways!) And to the guest who reviewed on the last chapter that the Curtis', in fact, do not have a sister, you are correct. This story is not actually The Outsiders. This is a fanFICTION. It's a work of my imagination. I'm allowed to deviate from the original story, so please lay off. **

**I would also like to let everyone else know about my friends new Outsiders story. It's called Bad Reputation and is written by Schmoo11d9. Check it out if you want! Thanks again. Let me know if you have suggestions for the next chapter!**

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After a few minutes of Darry trying to stop me from leaving the house because of how short my skirt was, he let us go. Dally grabbed me by the wrist and walked me down the driveway to his car. Feeling how damp his palm was and the awkward placement of his hand made me think that he'd never held a girls hand before. I thought back to what I knew of his previous romantic entanglements and remembered that I never saw him with the same girl for more than 3 days. I smiled, knowing that he was putting such an effort into our first date. I turned my arm so he would release his grip and I laced our fingers together. I glanced over at him and saw that he had a small grin playing on his lips, which made my smile grow wider.

We reached the car and we released each others hands. I crawled into the passenger side of Buck's T-Bird and he into the drivers seat. The ride to the Dingo was pretty quiet, except for when my favorite song, "Yes" by Merry Clayton, came on the radio and I had to blast it and sing really loudly. Dally laughed in response to my horrendous singing, "I think my ears are bleeding!"

"Oh, hush! I'm not that bad." I playfully shoved him a little. He caught my hand and intertwined our fingers. My breath caught in my throat. He rubbed small circles on my hand.

"It really was. I hope you weren't going into singing professionally." He grinned at me.

I blushed and put my hand on my forehead, "I'm sorry I made you go through that."

He squeezed my hand slightly, "Don't be sorry. It was cute. Maybe a little quieter next time."

"No promises!" I laughed as we pulled into the Dingo parking lot.

We both stepped out of the car and I walked around the front. He extended his hand to me and I graciously took it, both of us smiling. He led me into the dimly lit dinner and to a booth. We sat down on opposite sides of the table, and ordered our food from the middle-aged women who was waiting on us.

"So, how ya liking our date?" Dally asked, almost nervously.

"I like it just fine!" I replied smiling as wide as I could manage. I had just given him the biggest understatement of the century. He replied with a slight laugh and the waitress came back with our burgers and fries. We ate mostly in silence. It was only interrupted when we would catch each other staring at the other and we would both laugh at ourselves.

As I was finishing off my fries he asked, "You wanna get outta here?"

"Well, that would be the next logical step. Since we don't want to sit here all night." I replied, being a smart-ass.

He shot me a look and threw a couple bills on the table, "You wanna hit up the Nightly Double?"

"Sure, what are they playing?" I asked.

"Some girly, romance movies I think." He grimaced slightly. "We don't have to go. We could wait until they have something better or-"

I clapped my hands together, "Sounds great!" I grabbed his hand and ran out of the dinner to Buck's T-Bird.

On the way to the drive-in, I asked Dally about what his family was like. He replied with a couple witty remarks about how he didn't need a family, and the gang was all he would need.

I looked him in the eye, "Really, you can tell me."

"Are you sure? Because no offense, but you've kinda been weird tonight." He admitted.

I looked at me hands, "Sorry, I'm just nervous."

He looked confused, "Why are you confused. We've known each other for 10 years! We should be comfortable around each other."

"Yeah, but it's different now. Now we're 'together' and people will expect things from us." I said, using air-quotes.

"That doesn't even make sense, Jill. Nothing has to change. We can have the exact same relationship that we had before, only now we can make-out and make people sick with our love!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I looked down again, not believing him.

We had pulled into our spot at the Nightly Double by now, and he pulled my chin up so I would look at him. "Hey, I liked you before we had any of this date stuff going on. That's proof that we don't have to change just because we're in a relationship. I just want you." He leaned over so our faces almost touched. I could feel his breath on my face. It smelled like cigarettes and mint gum, a scent I would come to love. "I just want you," He repeated, slower this time. He closed the gap between our lips and they moved in sync with each other. His hands found my hips and he pulled my body across the middle seat of the T-Bird. My fingers snaked through his hair. I don't know how long we stayed like that, kissing in Dally's borrowed car while a mindless teeny-bopper movie played in the background. He pulled away from my lips and rested his forehead against mine, trying to catch his breath.

"It's times like this that it comes in handy to not be just friends." He whispered. I giggled inaudibly, and he planted a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. I turned to face the movie screen for the first time since we'd gotten there and leaned my head on Dally's shoulder. He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head before watching the movie himself. We watched a clean cut girl walk away from a very attractive boy while he yelled her name to get her back. In the end I knew they would be together, all these kind of movies were predictable. They all had the same plot. Boy meets girl. Boy falls for girl; girl falls for boy. One of them screws up, and they fight. But they always end up together in the end. It never fails.


	6. Take My Breath Away

**A/N: Thanks for all the support guys! Here's another chapter. Sorry it wasn't out on Sunday like I try to do, I was going to put out yesterday on the 30th anniversary but that just didn't work. **

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By the time the second movie was over, Dally and I had been interrupted twice. Once by Two-Bit who was looking for action in all the wrong places and another by a couple of Socs who thought Dally had slashed their tires. When he had it all straightened out that it wasn't him we silently drove off. Dally pulled the car into my driveway and turned to me without a word.

"I had a really great time tonight, Dal." I said before he could get a word out.

"Yeah, me too, Jilly. It was real nice." He grinned slightly. I reached for the handle and swept my legs outside. I shut the door and made my way to the front porch.

"Hey, wait!" Dally called after me, "If this is gonna be a real date, I at least haveta walk you to the door!" I smiled and waited for him to catch up. He scooped my hand into his and took off running.

"What was that about?!" I asked breathlessly at the door.

He shrugged, "Just wanted to take your breath away on this date."

"You did not just say that! That is so cheesy!" I hit his shoulder.

He was clearly impressed with the line he just pulled, "Yeah, whatever." With that he put his hand on my waist and yanked me close to him. His other hand made its way to my hair and was tangled in the curls. His face was centimeters away from mine when the porch light flicked on and Darry came out, feigning some excuse about needing to air out the house.

"Oh hey, guys! You just comin' back from your date?" He acted surprised. We both turned to glare at him.

"You know darn well that we were coming back from our date." I growled at him.

Dally chuckled, "This is my cue to leave." He turned back to me and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, "I'll see ya later, Jill." I quickly smiled at him.

Once he was back into the car, I turned to Darry. "Why did you do that? You knew full well what was happening!"

"Exactly! I knew what was happening, and I didn't want it to, so I stopped it!" He held back a grin.

"Why? It's not like that would've been our first kiss!"

The hint of a grin was wiped of his face. "What do you mean?" His big brother tone was coming out, great.

I huffed and walked passed him into the living room. Soda and Steve were sitting on the couch and Steve was stuffing his face with cake.

"Hey, guys." I waved to them as I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Darry came in a second later, "Why don't you enlighten me on what you mean when you say it wouldn't have been your first kiss?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like." I shrugged and sipped my water.

Darry looked to me in disbelief. "Soda!" He yelled without breaking eye contact with me.

Soda came through the doorway with a suspicious look in his eye, "What's goin' on?"

Darry recapped the previous conversation. Soda looked at me, and back at Darry, "That doesn't surprise me one bit."

Darry's eyes grew ever wider, "She's just a kid! What makes you say that?"

"Dude, it's Dally we're talkin' about here. And with how long this kid has had a crush on him, I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one to make the first move!" Soda winked at me.

"It's true! I saw 'em makin' out at the Nightly Double just before I dropped Evie off and came here." Steve came in, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and went back to the TV.

Darry stared down at me and I saw a vein popping out of his forehead. "The Nightly Double?! Goddammit, Jill. I thought you were better than to act like a whore on your first date, especially with that horn dog!"

I could feel the tears forming in my eyes and my throat tightening from trying to hold them back.

"Whoa, whoa, man. Calm down! She ain't no whore! She just kissed the guy! And Dally knows how much is at stake with goin' out with her, he sure isn't gonna mess it up on the first date!" Soda yelled back.

Darry took a deep breath in preparation for more yelling. "Stop! Both of you just stop!" I yelled before they had the chance. "You," I pointed to Darry, "You don't even know what happened on that date so just stop jumping to conclusions! You know me better than to assume I was having sex in the back of Dally's car at the drive-in, that's just disgusting. And you," I pointed to Soda and my voice softened, "Thanks for always sticking up for me, but I don't want you to if it's gonna make you guys fight more than absolutely necessary."

"You're right, Jelly." Darry said, looking at his shoes. He didn't want to admit that he was acting ridiculous. Soda looked at me and gave a half-hearted smile. I put one hand on each of them and pulled them into a hug.

"I'm not letting go 'till you guys hug each other. I'm prepared to be here all night." I smiled into their chests.

I heard Steve's footsteps coming from the living room again, "I don't hear anymore yelling. Who did you kill-" He cut off his question at the sight of us all hugging it out. "Aww! Group hug!" He yelled before joining in, wrapping his arms around all three of us.

Darry jerked from his embrace, "Get off me, man!" Steve started to untangle himself but I stopped him.

"Do not let go until those two hug each other." I ordered him. Darry shot me an evil look, but hugged Soda anyway.


	7. Buck's

**A/N: Okay, whatever. I broke down and wrote two more chapters last night and I couldn't help myself but post again. As always, thank you to all the people that review/follow/favorite and keep up the good work. I really like the feedback so please keep it coming!**

* * *

Things had gotten better at home with Darry realizing that I wasn't doing anything bad with Dally other than excessively making out every time we were together, which was basically all the time. We were going on two months when he thought it would be a good idea to take me to a party at the infamous Buck's place. Even though I've lived in Tulsa my entire life, I have never laid eyes on Buck. From the stories I hear about him from all the guys I would expect him to be a fat, greasy scumbag who has girls all over him for some unknown reason. When we got there I realized that only part of my assumption was correct. I could see what looked like 17 pounds of grease in his hair, and he looked like a total sleaze, but I could see how some women would find him attractive. He gave me quick once-over and apparently I passed inspection because he let me through without a fuss.

I followed Dally through the crowded room and we came up to the bar.

"Do you want anything to drink?" He asked me.

"I'll just take a water, if that's okay." I replied, not wanting to get into trouble with Darry later.

"Sure, babe." He smiled at me. I would never get tired of that smile. He walked off somewhere to get my water when the owner of the joint stalked over to me.

"Hey, sweet cheeks." Buck said, looking over my body.

I didn't say anything. I scrunched up my face and gave him a small wave.

"Is that any way to treat the one responsible for this great party?" He moved closer to me and gestured to the packed room.

I took a step back, "I have a boyfriend."

"Yeah, I know, baby. But that's never stopped me from a girl before." He reached out and moved a few stray hairs from my face. His hand lingered for longer than it should have.

"Stop," I said, taking another step away from him. My back hit a wall; I was trapped. He gave me a disgusting grin that made my stomach crawl as my eyes grew wide to the fact that I was stuck here.

"You ain't goin' anywhere now." He laughed and roughly grabbed at my hip, slamming me harder against the wall.

"Let go of me." I spat at him, trying to squeeze out of his grasp.

"Not a chance." His hot mouth made contact with my neck. I needed to get out of here. I frantically searched the room for any sign of Dally. He was standing down the bar holding a glass of water, how sweet of him. He was looking around the room for me. I started to yell his name but Buck put his hand over my mouth and Dally couldn't hear my muffled screams in the loud room. I tried to grab at Buck's hair to try and pull him off me, but he thought that was approval and kept at my neck. I brought my knee to try and make contact with his groin, but there wasn't enough space to get any momentum. When Buck realized I was still fighting, his hand stayed over my mouth but also went over my nose, cutting off all fresh air I had. I could smell the grime and alcohol on his hand. My fists pounded on the wall, trying to get any attention I could get from someone who would help me. No luck. My vision started to get hazy and I was seeing spots. I needed air. Now. Everything started to fade away and I felt myself slump against the wall. Everything was black.

I felt a breeze on my face and someones arms under me. I tried to force my eyes open but they weren't cooperating and I fell back asleep. It felt like I was being rocked; no, someone was carrying me. This time I really did force my eyes open and looked up to see Dally walking though the streets of Tulsa. He was carrying my bridal-style, and I reached up to touch his chest. My shoulder was really sore. I wonder what happened. All I remember was Buck shoving me against the wall and trying to have his way with me. I really hope that didn't happen. My hand fell back on my stomach because I couldn't stretch anymore to reach him. He noticed my movements and looked down at me.

"What happened?" I croaked.

"Ugh, jeez. Darry's gonna kill me." He muttered, and then cleared his throat. "I'll explain later, you can go back to sleep for now. You just went through a very traumatic experience and you need your rest. We're almost back to your house anyway."

I nodded and did as I was told. I woke up again when I heard a door slam and someone start screaming.

"What the hell happened to her, Winston?!" It was Darry. I tried to shush him, but nothing came out.

"Keep it down! I'll explain everything! Just let me take her to her room." Darry must have nodded because I was moving again. I felt the bed underneath me and the covers come around me. I felt Dally kiss my forehead just like he did after our first date and I wished I had the strength to move my head up so our lips could meet. I heard the door slowly close and he was gone.

"OK, now tell me what happened." I heard Darry say through the paper thin walls.

Dally sighed and began, "I took her to Buck's and I went to go get her a drink-"

"You were gonna let her drink?!" Darry accused.

"It was water, buddy!" He said bitterly and then continued, "Anyway, when I went back to where I left her she was gone. I was looking around for her and I saw that Buck had someone in the corner, which isn't an uncommon sight at these parties. But it wasn't just some floozy that was wasted, it was Jill, and she looked like she was passed out. So I go over there, and it was her, and he didn't even give a shit that he was all over my girl. I ripped him off of her a pretty much beat the life outta him. He said somethin' about coming after me for it, but I just left and came straight here." He let out a big breath.

Darry sounded like he was pacing the room. "You did the right thing, man." I heard Soda. When did he get there? "What did he mean when he said he was gonna come after you?" He asked.

"I have no idea, but he was pretty pissed that I broke up his fun for the night." Dally said, with a hint of fear hanging in his voice.

Darry spoke up, "Thanks for takin' care of her, Dal."

"No problem. But I sorta need a place to crash. I am not goin back to that shit head's, you dig?"

Darry wholeheartedly agreed, "Of course you can use our couch. But _only_ the couch. No sneakin' over to Jill's."

"She's been through enough guys wantin' it from her tonight, she needs her rest." Dally surrendered.

"You're a good guy, Dal. Night." Darry left the room, and it sounded like Soda did, too. No one was talking anymore, and I fell into a deep, unbothered sleep.


	8. Gone With the Wind

**A/N: I'm so sorry for what you are about to go through. Please don't kill me, because then you won't know what happens next. It will all be okay in the end, just breathe. **

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The next morning I woke up groggy and very thirsty. I walked into the living room and was met my Dally. He pulled me into a huge hug.

"How are you?" This was the most genuine and worried I had ever seen him.

"I'm really thirsty and I really need a shower. I feel so disgusting after that scumbag..." I trailed off.

"Do you need any help in there?" He asked, back to his usual self.

I turned beat red. I thought back to the event two weeks ago that spurred his comment.

_I turned off the water and wrung my hair out. I stuck my arm out from behind the curtain and searched around for the towel that I had put there. Or did I? Shit. I stuck my head out, no towel in sight. Shit, shit, shit. What was I going to do? I knew a couple of the guys were over, but I didn't know which ones. I stepped out of the bathtub and pressed my ear against the door. I head the familiar sounds of Mickey Mouse playing from the TV. I didn't hear any voices, so that meant that they were either all outside or too enthralled with Mickey to say anything. I was hoping for the first. I took a deep breath and opened the door quickly, knowing full well that there was quite a view of the bathroom from the living room, and ran at full speed down the hall to my bedroom. I panted as I shut the door and listened for anyone to say anything. I didn't hear any voices so I assumed I was safe. I got dressed in peace and made my way back out to the living room where I was surprised to see Dally. I walked over to where he was sitting on the close end of the couch and kissed his cheek. While my face was still relatively close to his, he whispered, "Nice show you put on there," nodding to the bathroom door. My eyes grew wide and he just laughed, pulling me down into his lap. I buried my face in my hands to cover the red that was burning it. He pulled my hands down and made me look at him, "you ain't got nothing to be embarrassed about." He winked at me, only adding to my embarrassment. _

I whacked his arm, and winced as my shoulder disagreed with my actions. I let out a small laugh, "I actually might." He raised his eyebrows. "But not like that, and not from you."

"I'll get my chance one day. But in the meantime, if you're feeling up to it, maybe we could go for a walk in the park tonight." He suggested.

"What is with you and these cheesy ideas?" I asked.

"I dunno." He simply replied.

"Well, we can go if you want. But just be expecting to carry me half way home." I rubbed the bruise on my forearm.

"Deal," He said and kissed my forehead, "I'll be back at 6."

I passed the time by reading a couple of books that Ponyboy lent to me. He had pretty good taste in books. I don't know why I've never asked him for some before. I was wrapping up _Gone With the Wind_ when I heard Dally slam the screen door.

"Jill! You ready to go?" He yelled through the house.

"Be right there!" I yelled back as I finished the last page. I hopped of my bed and made my way to the front door, tossing the book at Ponyboy as I passed him.

"Didja like it?" Pony asked.

"It was great! I'm gonna have to borrow books from you more often!" I responded and he smiled.

I turned to Dally, "Alright, let's go."

He smiled and took my hand, "I'll be back later." I called to Pony over my shoulder. He'd started to skim through the pages of _Gone With the Wind_ and just nodded and put his hand in the air.

On the way to the park Dally was telling me how much fun he thought we would have. "There's a swing set and a huge slide." He gushed like a 4 year old. "There's even monkey bars!"

"That's great, Dal! But you'll have to push me on the swings."

We were at the park for about an hour. He was having so much fun acting like a kid. He jumped off the swings when they were at their highest and then he failed miserably at the monkey bars. It was the funniest thing ever to see _the_ Dallas Winston swinging himself around like a monkey and then falling on his face. He could tell I was getting tired though and he agreed to take me home. He caught a glimpse of something across the park and turned us away more hurried than before.

"C'mon, Jill. Let's get out of here." He said and scooped me up, walking faster than I could have.

"What's wrong, Dally?" I asked.

"Noth-" He was cut off by someone calling him across the way.

"Winston! Hey, Winston!" It was Buck. He was jogging to catch up with us. "I got some unfinished business with you!"

"What are you talkin' 'bout, Buck. Just leave me alone." Dally sneered.

Buck shook his head with an evil smile. "I ain't lettin' ya get away from me this time." Buck reached behind him and pulled out a pistol that was tucked into his pants. Dally gasped and shoved my body behind his. His eyes never left the gun.

"Jill, run home. Now. I don't care how much it hurts, just run." I was off before the last words left his mouth.

I was running as hard as I could, but my sore body couldn't keep up with my demands. I slowed my pace to hopefully catch my breath. Before long I stopped completely and put my hands on my knees, and that's when I heard it. The sound ripped through the trees that lined the city street. A gunshot. My heart stopped. There is no way that Dally would have let Buck get any closer with that gun, let alone shoot him. I sprinted back to the park, not caring about how much my body was protesting.

Once I got there I saw a body crumpled on the ground, groaning. I saw dark hair and a leather jacket. No. I didn't see Buck anywhere. He must've run off. I walked cautiously to where Dally was laying on the damp grass.

His eyes weren't focused on anything and there was blood dripping out of his mouth. I cradled his face between my hands, "Dally, c'mon. We gotta get up. We gotta get help." I realized that I was crying.

"C'mon, Dal. You gotta go to the hospital." I cried more. I saw him blink twice and his lips twitched, but nothing came out. There was no use. He was a goner. I sobbed harder and layed my head on his bloody chest. I didn't care about anything anymore. I felt his heartbeat grow fainter and fainter until there was nothing left. He was gone. Dally was gone forever.


	9. Repeat

A/N: Is everyone okay? Were there any casualties? Just keep breathing .

* * *

I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks and felt the comfort of my bed underneath me. How did I get here? Dally must have carried me home- Wait. No, he didn't. He's dead. I sat up and looked around the small room. It was 8:45. I got out of bed and walked to the door. I heard voices in the house and I wiped my face off to make me look more presentable. I shuffled into the living room where Soda yelled, "Happy Birthday!"

I looked at him with confusion, "What?" I asked somewhat bitterly.

"Jill. Do not tell me that you forgot that today is your 16th birthday." He looked annoyed.

"What?" I repeated. "No it's not. It was almost 3 months ago."

Soda looked concerned now. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Uhm. Uh- What day is it?" I stammered.

"It's July 12th. You're birthday, we just went over this." He was annoyed again.

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

I huffed. It was all a dream. My whole relationship with Dally was a dream. I saw it flash through my mind. Every kiss, every single thing was a lie. I saw it all fade to black and I was back in my living room, but the room was spinning and I was falling. My mind went black again before I hit the ground.

* * *

I was having a hard time coming to terms that everything that I had been going through in the past three months- or 12 hours- wasn't real. I was curled up on my bed, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, and staring blankly at the pale wall. I should have known that it was a dream, my whole relationship with Dally seemed to good to be true And it was. I sighed heavily and closed my eyes, trying to unthink everything. It wasn't working. I remembered everything. I remembered the way it felt when his fingers locked in my hair, and the way my stomach tightened when he kissed me, and the look in his eyes when he rubbed this thumb along my cheek. I shook my head, dislodging the memories. It's not real.

I heard the door slam and a few people come in. Ugh, after my freakout earlier this morning, Soda had been checking up on me every 20 minutes. He probably had to go to work or something and called in reinforcements. I did not want the gang giving me weird looks and asking me what was wrong. And I did _not_ want to explain to them why I was so numb.

My door was being softly pushed open. I tilted my head toward it with swollen eyes and saw Soda peeking his head through the opening.

"Hey. I know you're not feeling great, but I forgot to tell the guys not to come over. Do you want to come out for your party?" He asked shyly.

Party? Oh, right. It was my birthday. "Uhm. Sure." I mumbled, untangling myself from the mess of sheets.

"Great!" Soda smiled widely at me.

I sneered at his enthusiasm. "I need to get presentable first."

"Take all the time you need, Bean." He retracted his head and I heard the bolt click back into place. I gathered some clean clothes and made my way to the bathroom. I tuned out all voices from the house and didn't look into the living room. Who cares if I'm being a bitch to the guys? It's my party... and I'll bitch if I want to. I took a quick shower and ran cold water over my face to try and reverse the swelling. I hopped out and dried myself off, and braced myself for the guys.

I cautiously stepped out of the bathroom and tried to sneak into the living room without being noticed. Not happening. Nothing was going my way today.

Two-Bit came running at me with his hands behind his back. "Jilly! We've been waiting for you for soo long!" He exaggerated. I simply shrugged at him. My mood didn't faze him, "It's not everyday that the baby girl of the group turns a whopping 16. It's cause for a major celebration." He grinned at me and pulled a plastic tiara and a satin sash from behind him.

"There is _no_ way that I'm wearing those." I glared at the tacky accessories.

"No choice, sweets. It's your birthday and everyone needs to know!" He lunged toward me and shoved the tiara on my head. The comb ends dug into my scalp. I protested in vain, knowing that it wouldn't stop him. He forced the sash around one arm and draped it across my body.

"There." He said, taking a step back. "Perfect." He admired his work. I looked down and saw that the sash said 'Birthday Princess'. Princess? I was no princess. I didn't even have a prince. The thought brought tears to my eyes. Oh, God. I can't start crying here. Not in front of all the guys. I can just get through this stupid party and go back to my room and cry myself to sleep again. I pushed the thoughts away and gave a very weak smile.

"Thanks for the effort, Keith." I slipped, calling him by his real name.

"Hey!" He snapped. "The only people that call me that is the principal and my mother! I will always be Two-Bit to you!" His scolding turned to laughter.

I gave him a thumbs up and turned to see everyone else in the room. Darry was looking at me like I might drop dead at any minute. Soda must have told him what happened earlier. I tried to give him a smile, but it turned into a grimace when I thought about why I had passed out. Ponyboy came up to me and guided to the couch and pushing my shoulders slightly to get me to sit down. He could sense that something was up with me but I doubted that he knew everything. No one ever told Pony anything. Everyone was gathering around me and tossing small packages at me. I was ripping the paper off of Steve's gift when I heard the screen door creak open. Who else could be here? I looked at everyone surrounding me and then I realized. I jumped to my feet and all the packages tumbled to the ground. I flew around and I saw him standing there, looking like nothing was wrong. All the emotions I had felt about him came rushing back to me like a tidal wave. I guess I hadn't really thought about it until now but he wasn't dead in this life. He was still alive and kicking and that gave the most intense satisfaction. "Oh, my God." I whispered as I looked at him.

Dally scrunched his face back at me, "What are ya doin', Jill. You're acting like you've never seen me before."

That's because I thought you were dead. I also thought you were my boyfriend, but that's a different story. I didn't have any words to say to him. I didn't know what to do. He didn't know what was running through my head, he just thought I was being a freak.

Before I knew what I was doing I had crossed the room and closed the gap between us. I put my hands on either side of his face and pulled him into a deep kiss. His eyes shot wider before they slowly shut and he wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing me back. Someone, I'm assuming Two-Bit, let out a low whistle. Then someone else, who turned out to be Darry, broke us apart and spun me around to face him.

"What the hell are you doin'?!" He shouted.

"Uhm- Uhm-" I glance back to Dally, who looked like he was holding back a smug grin. "Ihavenoidea." I spat out and ran back to the safety of my bed, slamming my door on the way. What the hell did I just do?


	10. Here We Go

**A/N: As always, thanks to everyone who reviews/follows/favorites. You guys rock! Sorry it took a little longer to get this one up. **

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I sat on the edge of my bed and had my face in my hands. I just made a giant mess and I did not want to have to clean it up. I slid off the bed and tucked my knees into my chest. My forehead was against my kneecaps and I took slow, deep breaths. I heard a small knock at my door and lifted my head slightly. God, I hope it wasn't Dally. Or Soda. Or Darry. I hope it wasn't anyone and I was just imagining it. The person knocked again. I guess I'm not getting out of this one. I slowly got to my feet and opened the door a crack and peeked out. It was Ponyboy. Weird, he usually tried not to talk to me one-on-one. I think girls freak him out, even if they're his sister. I opened the door a little wider and gestured for him to come in. He sat down on my bed and looked at me expectantly.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep the bitterness of the days events covered.

"I-uh. Well-uhm. I thought you might want to talk about what happened out there." His ears turned red.

I let out a sigh. "Look, Pony. You don't really want to listen to what I have to say about that. Why don't you go back out there and hang out with the guys while they're still here and leave me in here to die of embarrassment?"

He glanced at the door, looking like he might take me up on my offer but he shook the thought away. "No. I know I'm not the best at this kind of stuff, but I want you to know that you can talk to me."

I gave him a small smile, "Are you sure you want to hear it?" I gave him a last chance to get away.

He smiled wearily, "Lay it on me."

I exhaled deeply, "Well. Here we go. I think I might be in love with Dally. Or what I thought was Dally."

He stared at me with wide eyes. "You're in love with him? How? It's Dally, for God's sake!" He looked slightly disgusted. "Wait, what do you mean 'what you thought was Dally'?"

I slide down on the bed next to him, "This might sound a little crazy, but this morning I was so upset because-" I stopped and coughed slightly, "Augh, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"No! Tell me! I might actually be able to help, you never know!" He smiled encouragingly.

I gave him a look that said I did not want to talk about it anymore, but he wasn't having it. He motioned for me to continue. "OK. So I woke up from a dream, or night mare. It was awesome! It seemed so real, and Dally and I were together and everything was just so perfect." I started to cry. "It was so right. Everything felt like it was how it was supposed to be, and then he got killed." I started crying harder, "And then I woke up and it wasn't real anymore. I don't know which is worse, having been together and him dying or never being together at all. This just blows."

Pony put an uncomfortable arm around my shoulder and rubbed my arm. "Hey, hey. It'll all work out."

"I don't think so. I just ruined every chance of trying to get everything back to normal by kissing him out there."

"Maybe you weren't supposed to make everything go back to normal."

I looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe you were supposed to kiss him tonight. Maybe it was destiny trying to bring you guys together."

"You're so full of shit." I leaned my head against his shoulder. "But thanks."

"But I'm not full of shit! Maybe I'm right! I think you should ask out Dally and see if anything happens!" Pony always was the dreamy type. He always thought everything would work out in the end, he always thought there would be a happy ending.

"Pony, girls don't ask out guys. Especially not Dallas Winston." I scoffed.

"But you could! And that would set you apart from all the other girls and give you a boost. Jill, have you ever thought that he might like you too? We all saw how he reacted when you kissed him tonight. He was just as into it as you were. It was pretty disgusting, actually." He choked back a grimace as he remembered.

"Oh, shut up. It wasn't that bad." I shoved him slightly.

"It really was! I'm pretty sure I saw tongue!" We both laughed and Darry came in slowly.

"Everything OK in here?" He asked, cautiously.

"Everything's great." I responded, still laughing.

Pony stood up to leave with Darry. "Come on, Jilly. You didn't open you're presents yet!" I gave them a grin and went out with them. I stepped into the living room and felt my whole body start to hum. Dally was sprawled out on the couch and he grinned smugly when he saw me. I was hyper-aware of every move I was making and slid my back down the wall to sit on the floor. The gifts were redistributed and I opened them all and said my thanks. I couldn't remember a single thing that was given to me except for the switchblade from Dally.

Soda passed out pieces of cake and we all ate them. I wasn't aware of what anyone was saying. I was in a fog. I only heard Dally's laugh pierce through my thoughts and couple of times.

When everyone left I knew that I was going to take Pony's advice. Maybe it was destiny. Or maybe it wasn't. I was going to find out.


	11. You Know Exactly What I Said

**A/N: Thanks for everyone who's still reading this! I really appreciate all your follows/favorites/reviews. **

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The next day I walked into the kitchen and I saw Soda's wallet lying on the counter. He already left for work and he hadn't called home about it yet, so he must've not noticed it was missing. Wouldn't I just be the best sister if I brought it to him at work? I slipped on a leather jacket that was lying on the table. I had no idea whose it was. One of the guys probably forgot it last night.

I walked the couple of blocks to the DX and the door dinged when I walked in.

"How can I help you today?" I heard Steve say from behind the counter. I walked into his line of sight. "Oh, hey Jill. What's going on?"

I held up the wallet that was being held together by duct tape. "Soda forgot his wallet at home. Is he around?" I explained.

Steve laughed at his friend's forgetfulness, "Yeah, hold on a sec. He's in the back, I'll go get him."

"Thanks!" I yelled as he walked into the back. I walked around the small convenience store that was part of the gas station. I grabbed a bottle of Coke and took a dollar out of Soda's wallet. He wouldn't notice. I walked back to the front counter and leaned against it to wait for Steve or Soda to come back.

I heard the door ding open and I didn't care enough to look up from the counter to see who it was. I heard the new customer walk down one aisle, pick something up, and come around the other aisle. They slammed another bottle of Coke on the counter next to mine and I finally peeled my eyes away from the rows of cigarettes behind the counter. I turned my body slightly toward them and I came face to face with Dally.

"H-Hey," I stuttered.

He pointed to the jacket I was wearing, "You stealin' my shit?"

Shit, this was his. I started to take it off and mumbled, "Sorry. I didn't realize it was yours."

He looked toward the back room for any sign of Soda or Steve. When he couldn't see either of them he handed me a quarter. "Would you mind paying for mine when they get back? I got something to do." He asked.

"Yeah, sure." I agreed. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to the rodeo; gotta get money somehow."

I nodded like I knew what he was talking about. He gave me a weird look and turned to leave. He was pushing the door open when I called out to him. "Dally, wait."

He turned back around and looked expectantly at me. "Aren't you gonna say anything about last night?" I asked softly.

"What's there to say?" He asked, "That your brothers make damn good cake? Because we already knew that." Was he purposely avoiding the topic of our kiss just to make me feel worthless?

"I was thinking more along the lines of when I kissed you." My voice grew softer with each word.

"Oh. That." He dismissed the thought. "It was nothing. We all do stupid stuff. I forgive you." He forgave me? This was not how I was expecting how I was expecting this to go.

"I don't want your forgiveness." I said louder.

"Oh? Then what _do_ you want?" His voice rose. He towered over me and I shrunk into myself.

I bit my lower lip and stared at his chest, not wanting to meet his angry eyes. "I was kind of wondering if you wanted togoonadatewithme." I rushed the last half of it.

He stood there stunned for a second. "What did you say?"

"You know exactly what I said." I did _not_ want to repeat myself.

"I want to hear you say it again. I want to make sure I heard ya right. My ears aren't as good as they used to be."

"Oh shut your trap." I could care less about Soda's wallet anymore. I moved around him and reached for the door.

"Hold your horses, sweet cheeks." He pulled me back into the gas station by my wrist. I felt the familiar zap of electricity when he touched me. "I still haven't answered your question properly." He grinned.

I glared at him, "Just get it over with so we can both get out of here." I regretted asking him, he was dragging out this and it was torture for me.

"Well that's not very ladylike. Maybe I'll just have to change my answer." He pouted his lips and I rolled my eyes.

"Can you just tell me so I can go home?" I asked, exhausted with this conversation.

He moved out of my path to the door. "Hey! I'm not holding ya here. You coulda left 5 minutes ago!"

I huffed and closed my eyes, rubbing my temple. He saw how tired of his shit I was and said, "Sure."

My eyes snapped open, "What?"

He laughed, "You know exactly what I said."

I laughed too when I heard my words echoed back at me. He tossed his jacket back at me, "Come what me tonight at the rodeo. We can hang out or something after."

"What am I supposed to do while you're out there? There are a lot of tough people that go to those things."

"Wear that." He pointed to the jacket in my hands. "Unlike you, most people know what my jacket looks like. If they see you in that, they won't mess with you." With that he grinned at me one more time and walked out of the DX.

I was only alone in the gas station for about 2 seconds before Soda and Steve came out of the back room clapping.

I turned red, "How much did you hear?"

Soda jumped the counter to stand next to me. He had his arm up for a high-five and my hand weakly met his. "We started listening at about 'h-h-hey'." They both laughed.

I chucked Soda's wallet at his chest, "This is all your fault! If you hadn't forgotten your dumb wallet, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Mess? What mess? Steve, do you see a mess?" Steve shook his head. "Me either. All I see is that you have a date with your dream man!"

"Augh. You're right. What am I gonna do?" I threw my hands in the air.

"I know what you're gonna do! You're gonna go on a date with that guy and fall in love and get married and have babies!" Steve yelled, shaking me by my shoulders.

"Whoa there! I don't even know where the rodeo is…"

Soda and Steve looked at me exasperated. They were in for a rough couple of hours.


	12. A Ride Home

**A/N: Hey, sorry it's been a while. This one's longer, but it's a lot of fluffy stuff so sorry. Hope you enjoy anyway. Again, thanks for the follows/favorites/reviews, keep up the good work!**

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Soda and Steve said they would cover for me with Darry. There was no way that he would let me out of the house if he knew I was going to watch Dally. Technically, Soda wasn't lying. He told Darry that he and Steve were taking me to the rodeo, which was true. He just didn't mention the part about them leaving me to fend for myself against the crowd and then Dally. As soon as we walked through the front gates, the two of them took of to look for some girls for the night. I wandered around the concessions area for a little bit before the events started before going to find a seat.

My seat wasn't that great. I was in the middle of a whole bunch of drunk people that wouldn't shut up. The first event was the horse races, which was the only event with Dally. I could see him in the stalls, gearing up for when the gun would be shot and the gates would be opened. It started quickly. You couldn't tell the horses from each other, they were in one giant clump. A few started to pull ahead from the pack and I recognized Dally's dark hair on top of a white horse with brown spots on it's sides. He was in third and the race was almost half over. He started to over take the second place spot and I started cheering along with all the drunken idiots around me. They were all shouting out horses names and profanities. I didn't know what the name of Dal's horse was, but I knew that someone around me was shouting it. They were bound to be, he was pulling ahead of everyone and it looked like he was going to win the whole race. I wondered if anyone put bets on Dally winning the race. The front runners rounded the last corner and were running straight toward the finish line. Dally was half a horse behind the first place and was trying to get closer. I could see the determination in his eyes from all the way up in the stands. His and another horse crossed the finish line at virtually the same time. It was a photo finish. The crowd waited silently as an old man with a giant cowboy hat made the decision on who would win. He was staring at the instant photo for a solid minute before walking to the podium with the microphone.

"The winner is... Ace!" I saw Dally kick a nearby fence post and drag his horse around to where the stables were. He didn't win. He was pissed about it, great. I didn't know if I should go try to find him or not, considering he was not going to be the happiest person. I decided to crawl out of the stands and over the drunks and head over to the stables. He was expecting me to be there after all. I didn't know exactly how to get back there, but I knew the general direction they were in, so I wandered that way. It was easier than I thought to get there, but once I was in the stables with about 20 horses and many more people, I had no idea how to find Dally. I didn't see him right off the bat so I looked in the individual pens; maybe he was spending some quality time with the horse. I opened a few stall doors and looked inside, only finding tired looking horses.

I looked down the row of pens and saw that one door was cracked open slightly. I walked over to it and popped my head in, because if there was a horse in there, it needed to be closed before it ran away. I looked around the small area and my eyes landed on a couple making out in the corner. All that registered in my mind before I whipped out of the pen was a mish-mash of hair and hands. I caught that the guy had dark hair and the girl had platinum blonde. _Wait_. I stopped in my tracks. I knew that shock of dark hair. I stormed back into the stall and cleared my throat, making myself noticed. I watched the guy detach himself from the skanky girl whose face he was eating.

"This better be life of death." He grumbled before looking up.

"Oh, it is." I said, feeling fire grow inside me. His eyes shot up at the sound of my voice. He shoved the girl that was pinning him to the wall.

"Oh, shit." Was all Dally said.

"Yeah, shit." I spat at him and stormed out of the pen. I had no idea where Steve and Soda went. I had told them that I would get a ride home with Dally, but now that was out of the question. They were probably long gone by now. I couldn't call home for Darry to get me either; he would flip if he knew what I was doing here tonight and that Soda left me alone. The thought of Dally making out with that slut make my stomach churn. I realized that I had his jacket on. I pulled my arms out and threw it into the nearest pile of horse poop, which wasn't too hard to find considering it was everywhere. I sunk to the ground against a nearby cement wall. I brought my knees up to my chest and covered my face with my hands, letting the tears fall. I can't believe that I actually thought Dallas Winston would be into me. What a joke.

Dally's POV

Jill just killed the mood with Sylvia. She just barged right in here and gave me the stink eye like I did somethin' wrong. Well, I guess I might have. I forgot about our date that was supposed to happen tonight. She looked pretty pissed off; I mean I would too, but she looked downright broken up about it. She just needs some time too cool off before I can talk to her again. I snaked my arms back around Sylvia's thin waist and bent down to her face, hoping to start where we left off.

Sylvia jerked her head back, "Who was that? And why was she so mad?"

I was taken back by her curiosity. She wasn't known around town for being one to ask questions. "Uh, that was Jill Curtis."

"Oh." She said dumbly. "Why was she so pissed?"

I looked away and lowered my voice. "I was supposed to be on a date with her."

Sylvia looked shocked and then it turned to angry. "So you're tellin' me that instead of goin' out with that nice girl, you're here with me?"

It seemed that this was gonna go my way. I figured she was fishin' for a compliment or somethin'. "Yeah, babe. When you come callin', it's too hard to pass up."

She frowned and gave me a pointed look, "You know what you have to do."

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" I asked sarcastically.

"Go after her, you idiot! She obviously likes you! If she didn't, she wouldn't have been so mad to find you in here with me." She gave me a slight shove towards the door, "You need a nice girl like her to straighten ya out."

I was headed for the door, "I don't need no straightenin' out."

She waved me off, "Yeah, yeah. Go get 'er."

I walked a few feet and found my signature leather jacket in a pile of shit. Great. I picked it up and tried to shake it off, but it was caked in there. I hung it up on a fence post so I could come get it later. I looked around some more and found Jill sitting in a corner basically in the fetal position. I stalked over to her and gave a loud, "Hey."

She didn't even look up before she said, "Go away."

"Make me." I challenged. She glanced up and saw that it was me. Her mouth quivered and she buried her face again. Her body shook as she cried. I hated when girls cried. I didn't know what to do.

"Get up." She ignored me. "C'mon, get up." I tried again. Still nothing. I reached out to grab her by the wrist and drag her outta here if I had too. Darry would kill me if he knew I left her here by herself. She snapped her arm out of my grasp before I could blink.

"I know you're pissed. But at least let me drive ya home." I said softer.

She looked up and sniffed, "Fine."


	13. What Happens Here

**A/N: Wow, so long chapter. As always, thank you for all the follows/favorites/reviews. They mean a lot to me!**

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The ride back to my house was sufficiently awkward. I refused to say anything to him, and him being the stubborn son of a bitch he was, also refused to talk. We both stared straight ahead, fuming. He had a death grip on the steering wheel, and at one point I thought it would crumble. It started to rain lightly and the needle on the speedometer went up. We were about half way back to my house when the rain picked up. It was starting to downpour, but it didn't seem to faze Dally; the needle just kept going up.

"Dally, you better slow down." I said quietly.

"Did you say somethin'?" He snarled my way.

"I said you should probably slow down." I said a tad bit louder.

"Why would I do that? Huh? Neither of us are enjoying this ride. Why not get there as fast as we can?"

"Your tires are pretty bald, we might start to hydroplane." I tired to sound smart.

"Oh? And why would that be so bad? Would be a rush." He scoffed.

"Yeah, a rush to the grave." I replied.

"Oh, lighten up. We ain't gonna crash. We'll be fine."

The road ahead of us took a sharp turn and Dally was hovering around 80. I braced myself against the dashboard. "Dally! Slow down the goddamn car!"

He let out a small laugh that told me he was going to do no such thing. The curve was right in front of us and he jerked the wheel to the left. The front end of he car went right, but the back end had other ideas. We spun around on the road long enough for me to be completely disoriented and the passenger side crashed into a tree. Glass shattered all over me, and I felt a shooting pain go through my arm. I cried out while Dally beat his hands on the steering wheel.

He struggled with his door and jumped out of the car. He went to the front to take a look at the damage. It must not have been good because he kicked the front bumper and yelled a few obscenities.

"Shit! This is just great! Come on, Jill. Looks like we're walkin'." He yelled over the rain.

I held my arm close to me as I tried to climb over to the driver's side door. There was something stopping me from moving and I looked back to see that my leg was pinned in the door. I was too preoccupied with my arm to notice anything else, but as soon as I saw my leg squished up in crunched metal all hell broke loose. I screamed out in pain and Dally poked his head into the car.

"Come on. I know you're hurt, but we gotta get outta here." His voice took on a softer tone.

"Dal- I can't- I'm stuck-" I gasped, trying to suppress my pain.

"What do you mean you're stuck?" He sounded genuinely concerned now. I sat back in my seat and tried to relax my leg as best I could. It didn't hurt before I started moving it around, so maybe if I stopped moving it, the pain would go away. Nope. I focused on my breathing. Inhale, exhale. Repeat.

"I mean that I'm freaking stuck! My leg is pinned in here and my arm is busted up!" I cringed when my yelling caused my arm to move.

Dally took a step back and looked around before pacing around the front of the car. He had a frantic look in his eye like he knew something that I didn't. My eyes were waterfalls and my face was covered in warm tears.

"Dally, you gotta help me!' I yelled out to him.

"How am I supposed to help you?" He asked with that same crazed look in his eyes.

"Just help!" I yelled again. The pain was starting to get to me and my vision was going in and out.

"God Dammit." I heard his mutter to himself. He want around the back of the car to the passenger side and tried to push the car away from the tree. Who did he think he was, the Hulk? The car wasn't budging but he kept pushing. I heard him grunting on the other side of the broken window. I wonder what it would be like to be under his body and hear those noises; what it would be like to have his dog tags trail along my chest as he smiled down at me... Holy crap! I was trapped in an overheated car with probably more than one broken bone and I was thinking dirty thoughts of the bastard who got me into this situation? I need to get my priorities in check. I felt the car shift a centimeter to the left; just enough for me to slide my leg out from between the seat and the door. I leaned my head back in exhaustion from that simple action. The world seemed to be getting darker as the seconds passed. Or minutes. I really had no idea. I felt Dally grab my under both arms and pull my out of the drivers side. The last thing I remembered was him scooping me up and thinking that it was deja vu.

When I woke up, the rain had stopped. Dally was carrying me down some road. I must not have been out very long because the crash wasn't but a couple of miles from my house. Dally's arms must have been killing him from carrying me this way for a while.

"Hey. You can put me down now. I can walk from here." I told him.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Oh yeah? You think you can walk?"

"Yeah. You must be tired from carrying me anyway."

He stopped walking and sighed. "If you say say so..." He slowly lowered me to the ground and the minute my toes touched the cement, I wished they hadn't. I let out a small whimper and he scooped me back up. "You wanna try that again?" He let out a small laugh.

I shook my head and tried to hold back tears. My leg killed every time Dally took a step, but it was better than trying to walk myself. My arm throbbed and I couldn't move my fingers and there was an annoying pain in my side. I turned my head to bury it in his chest. There was skin-to-skin contact. I pulled my head away and saw his pale skin.

"What happened to your shirt?" I asked.

His eyes slid up to my forehead. I reached up with my good arm and felt fabric wrapped around my hairline. "What happened?"

"I think you either hit your head on the window or you got cut from all the glass that flew at you." His voice had no emotion. The crash must have been worse than what I thought. I was beat up everywhere. I turned my head to look at where we were. We were just a few houses away from mine and I could see Darry's truck in the driveway. Shit, he was gonna flip. Dally walked a little faster for the last few yards and he deposited me in Darry's pick-up. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I had a massive head ache and I wished I could sleep. I heard Dally get in the other side and start up the engine. He backed out of the driveway and started towards the hospital.

"Take it slow this time. We don't need to crash again." I said with a small laugh. I looked over at him and he grimaced. I turned to the window and closed my eyes again.

I must be the world's deepest sleeper because the next time I opened my eyes I was in a hospital room hooked up to all kinds of machines and monitors. There was a vase of flowers on the bedside table but I couldn't make out the card from where I was. I saw a buzzer with a red button on top of it attached to the bed rails. I reached for it and I felt eyes on me. I looked up into the room and saw Darry sitting in the only chair available. He was looking back at me with wet eyes and a frown on his face.

"Hey." I said. My voice was scratchy. I looked around for water, but came up empty handed.

Darry stood up from his uncomfortable looking chair and came over to me. He grabbed a bottle of water from the counter and opened it for me.

"How ya feelin'?" He asked, looking really worried.

I was sore all over. From my head to my feet; everything hurt. "I've seen better days." I joked, "What about you?"

He let out a breath. "You kids need to stop scaring me like this." He pulled his chair up to my bed. He grabbed my good hand and rubbed his thumb over it.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, looking around like maybe they were hiding somewhere in the small room.

"They're out in the waiting room. They're only letting me in tonight since it's past visiting hours." He explained.

"How are they?" I asked. I was worried that Soda would feel bad for leaving me at the rodeo.

Darry laughed, "Why are you so concerned with everyone else? Don't you want to know what happened to you?"

"Come to think about it, yeah!" I laughed.

Darry got that worried look back on his face, "You have a broken rib, a fractured leg and your arm is broken in two places. Other than that, you just have some cuts and bruises. You did lose a lot of blood though. Mostly from up here." He pointed to my forehead. "Doctor's said that if Dal hadn't wrapped up your head, you coulda bled to death."

I smiled slightly at the thought of him carrying me all the way home, this time for real. "How's Dal doin'?"

"He's pretty shaken up, Jill. He thought you were a goner. I know you're probably mad at him about what happened at the rodeo. He explained everything. You should cut him some slack, though. He saved your life."

I scoffed, "He was also the one that endangered it." I saw Darry tense up. What was that about? "But I'm not mad at him. I never really was. I was just really upset when I saw him with that girl." I shrugged.

Darry glanced at the clock. "I'd better let you get some rest. We'll all be back tomorrow to see ya." He stood up and pushed the chair back to where it came from. He leaned over me and kissed the bandages covering my head. He left the room and turned out the lights. I wiggled around trying to find a comfortable position to sleep, but that wasn't going to happen.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to see the guys all crowded around my bed grinning at me. I stared at the wide-eyed. Why were they all grinning at me like that? Did I have something on my face? Of course I did, bandages. Two-Bit broke the silence.

"Sleeping Beauty is alive!" We all laughed.

"Hey, guys!" After that they all started talking at once and I couldn't follow what any of them were saying. They were all yelling over each other when the nurse came in.

"Hey! One at a time, boys! You're overwhelming her!" I shot her a thankful glance. I could handle them like that on any other day, but I was still groggy from all the drugs they gave me. They all looked at each other like they were deciding who was going to be the first one to talk to me. I guess the decision was unanimous, because everyone but Dally left without a word.

"Hi," I mumbled. I didn't really know what to say to him after all this.

"I'm gonna start off with this: Don't let any of this conversation leave this room. The guys'll think I'm goin' soft."

I nodded in agreement.

"Good." He said. He walked to the side of my bed with my good arm and motioned for my to scoot over. When I did, he crawled into the bed with me. What was happening here?

"What are you doing?" I asked him, accusingly. If he thought he was gonna get lucky with a half-crippled girl, he was sadly mistaken.

"I'm just sitting next to ya. Got a problem?"

I shook my head.

"Good. Now, like I said. Don't ever tell anyone about this, but I'm sorry. I shoulda listened to you when you were yelling at me to slow down. And I shouldn't have been with that girl instead of you. I just screwed up a lot last night at your expense." He said quietly.

I stared at him blankly. He was apologizing to me? He never apologized to anyone! He looked at me like he wanted me to say something. "It's okay. I'm still alive, ain't I?"

His body shook as he silently laughed. He threw his arm around my shoulder and his hand fell on my cast. I heard it thunk of the plaster and he jumped back.

"That reminds me!" He pulled a black marker out of the pocket and reached for my cast. He carefully picked it up and looked around for the perfect spot. He blocked my view of what he was writing and when he pulled away I saw that he'd drawn a small heart in the crook of my elbow. His voice lowered to a whisper. "I'm gonna try to be better for ya, but don't expect too much."

I shook my head and smiled. I felt my eyes welling up and I leaned my head on his shoulder. We sat like that until Soda came in and informed us that it was his turn to talk to me.


	14. A Wink and a Flutter

**A/N: Hey guys, as always, thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites. I'd like to put a request out there for any ideas for what should happen next. This chapter took a really long time for me to come up with and it's not even that good. I'm running out of fuel. Thanks again for the support!**

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Soda looked at the ground. I didn't want to be the first one to say anything so I just waited for him to speak up. He cleared his throat and glanced up at me through his eyelashes. His eyes were on the brink of spilling over as he took a couple of steps toward me.

"Bean. I- I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone, especially thinking you'd get home from Dally. That was just dumb. I shoulda known that he would pull a stupid stunt like that! He doesn't know what's good for 'im. 'Cuz if he did, you would be at home safe and sound... Well at least not broken and battered. Me 'n Steve just feel real bad about leavin' ya there and all..." I waited patiently for him to finish, because I knew he wanted to get it all off his chest.

He looked me in the eye when he was done talking. "You done?" I asked just to make sure. He nodded. "Good. Listen, Soda. You didn't do anything wrong. I was the dumb one that thought I could trust Dally to get me home! You and Steve shouldn't blame yourselves for what happened! In any case, something good came out of it in the end..." I grinned.

"What do you mean?" He grinned back.

"I guess almost killing a girl rides pretty hard on your conscience, because I think Dally and I are finally together."

"That's great, Bean! You need to straighten him out." He laughed softly.

"No one can do that, Soda. I think I'm just gonna try to keep him from exploding."

He laughed again and patted my knee, "I'm happy for ya, just be careful with him. You know how he is and none of us want ya gettin' hurt."

"Got it, Soda." I smiled at him.

"Hey! I think they're gonna let you come home tonight! Want me to go ask about it?" I nodded enthusiastically and he went out to the nurse's station. He came back in after a few minutes and told me that I would be able to go home after the doctor gave me one last look.

XX

Darry signed me out and I was home before 5 that evening. He, Soda and Pony got me all settled back into my room and let me rest for a couple of hours. I woke up from the sound of glass breaking in the kitchen. I shoved myself off of my bed and grabbed my crutch. Boy, was this going to get old real quick. I hobbled out toward the living room and saw Darry with a broom looking angry. I took a couple more steps towards the kitchen and saw Steve picking up pieces of a broken plate.

"I'm real sorry, Darry." He sounded sincere.

"It's fine, really." Darry's voice was tense. I wondered why he was so torn up about a broken plate. Stuff broke all the time, there was eight teen-agers that almost all lived here, what did he expect? Steve looked up from his place on the floor and saw me struggling to get closer.

"Stay out there, Jill. The last thing you need is to get a piece of glass in your foot." He said. I rolled my eyes but followed his directions. Darry gave me a look that told me to get the hell out of there. I lugged my broken body over to the couch to wear Pony was sitting. Moving around was not an easy task with both a leg and an arm in casts and my ribs and head in bandages. I had one crutch to help me get around, but it was still pretty hard. I flopped down and looked over at Pony.

"What crawled up Darry's butt and died?" I asked.

"From what I heard him telling Soda, we're pretty hard on money right now. And it's getting worse with all your hospital bills and everything." He flipped through a book.

I huffed. This was all my fault. "Great," I replied sarcastically.

The front door opened and snapped back shut. Dally and Johnny walked in and Two-Bit trailed them by a couple seconds. My face lit up when I saw Dally and I could tell Ponyboy was looking at me weird. Dally shot me a wink and went to the kitchen doorway. Johnny sat down next to me, careful not to touch my broken bones.

"Why were you lookin' at him all googly eyed? He was the one that almost killed you, remember?" Pony looked at me accusingly.

"He was also the one who saved me, so can it!" I snapped at him.

He threw his hands up in surrender. "Geez, don't bust my head open with your cast! I was just asking a question."

"Well, then to answer your question, you know damn well why I was making googly eyes at him. The same reason that I have been for over 5 years!" He just laughed and went back to the book he was flipping through. I let out a sigh and looked down at my arm. The little black heart made me smile every time I saw it. I couldn't tell anybody who put it there, but I knew and that was all that mattered.

"How ya feelin'?" Johnny asked from the other side of me.

"Eh. I've been better. What about you?"

"I'm good, a little jealous though." He admitted.

"What could you possibly be jealous about?" I asked.

He held up my arm and pointed to the heart. "I'm jealous that I wasn't the first one to sign this thing!" His ears turned a little red when he said it.

"Well, you can be the second person! Let me go get a marker." I moved to get up but Johnny stopped me.

"You stay here, I'll go get it!" I smiled as he walked away. He could be such a goof sometimes. I heard him asking the guys in the kitchen where the markers were.

"Whatcha need a marker for?" Soda asked.

"I gotta sign Jilly's cast! I wanted to be the first, but someone beat me to the punch." He explained.

"Hey, that's a really good idea. All of us should write her a little message or somethin'!" Two-Bit agreed.

Pretty quick, they were all coming out and crowding around me waiting for their turns with the marker. I looked at all of them standing in a semi-circle around me. This seemed to be a pretty common sight nowadays. It was weird. Johnny pulled his hand away and I looked down to see what he'd written. _Get well soon. Your pal, Johnnycakes. _I smiled at him as the next person took the marker. By the time they were all through, I had some pretty interesting messages:

_The guys around town better back off because you're looking pretty good in all this plaster, Steve. _

_ You're stuck with me as a cartoon buddy. Two-Bit_

_ Don't worry me like this again. I mean it, Darry._

_ You're a trooper, Sodapop Curtis. _

_ You should go around hitting your cast on things and pretending to be the Hulk. Pony._

And the most important.

_I'll protect ya next time, Dal. _

"Wait, what's that?" Two-Bit pointed at the heart.

"That's a heart. One of the basic shapes you learn in elementary school." I answered.

"I know that! But who's it from?" I panicked. I looked around at all the guys and they all had the same wondering stare. I locked eyes with Dally he gave me the look that said not to spill about him being all gushy.

"Uhm- It's from my friend. Marilyn." I hadn't talked to her in a while, but I figured the guys would believe me.

"When did you see her?" Darry asked quickly.

"And who's Marilyn?" Steve added.

"Marilyn is my friend, Steve! Marilyn Montgomery. She came and visited me in the hospital."

"Whoa! You never told us you were friends with her! She's real tuff. I'd like to get my hands on that. Hey, Jill, how 'bout hooking a guy up?" Steve asked.

"Sorry, Stevie. No can do, Darry practically drools every time she's around. You'll have to fight him for her." Steve gave Darry an appraising glance, trying to figure out if he could take him. He must have decided he couldn't because he shook his head and looked at the ground in defeat.

"I do not drool!" Darry argued.

"Yeah, sure. Tell me that next time I have to mop up after you." I laughed.

"Whatever." He mumbled, the tops of his ears were turning red.

I looked back to Dally after I swiftly changed the subject, he gave me a small grin and a wink. My heart fluttered. Boy, was I in trouble.


End file.
